This invention relates to an insulating and sealing sleeve for use with bus bar connectors of underground power distribution systems and the like.
Insulating and sealing sleeves are known and have been widely used in the art. Insulating and sealing sleeves of this type are exemplified in U.S. Pat. No. 3,528,051 which is assigned to the same assignee as the present invention. These sleeves provide a waterproof connection between the insulated portion of an electrical conductor and the tang of a bus bar which interconnects two or more conductors of the power distribution system. These sleeves utilize a closure wall means at the conductor end of the sleeve for embracingly engaging the conductor coaxially and providing a seal with the conductor. The other end of the sleeve body includes a relatively flexible portion which is of a tubular shape and smaller in size than the cooperating terminal or bus bar tang to provide a pressure contact therewith. While these sleeves have worked quite well and have enjoyed commercial success, it has been found that a relatively large number of different size sleeves are required to accommodate the differing sizes or diameters of the various conductors used in power distribution systems. Accordingly, they have been rather expensive to manufacture as a number of molds are required to produce the sleeves of varying sizes and the inventories required to stock the various sizes are also extensive.
These and other disadvantages are overcome by the present invention wherein there is provided an insulating and sealing sleeve for use with bus bar connectors and which is further provided with a conductor sealing end which accommodates a relatively wide range of conductor sizes. Further, the improvement provided by the present invention also facilitates the initial installation of the sleeve onto the insulated portion of the electrical conductor.